Clip suitable for use as a crane rail clip

ABSTRACT

A crane rail clip of bar spring steel has first arcuate portions extending upwardly from a central portion and diverging outwardly with respect to one another, second arcuate portions contiguous to the first arcuate portions and extending downwardly, the second arcuate portions converging inwardly towards, or diverging outwardly away from, one another, and end portions contiguous to the second arcuate portions. The end portions extend generally towards, and are disposed on the same side of, a plane passing through the central portion but not through either end portion, and the first arcuate portions extending from the central portion on the same side of the plane.

United States Patent [1 1 [111 3,876,141 French Apr. 8, 1975 [5 1 CLIPSUITABLE FOR USE AS A CRANE 3.696.998 10/1972 Nair er al 238/3493724.754 4/l973 Molyneux et al. 238/349 RAlL CLIP Primar E,ranIinerM.Henson Wood, .lr. Assirtanr EraminerRichard A. Bertsch Attorney. Agent,or FirmKurt Kelman [57} ABSTRACT A crane rail clip of bar spring steelhas first arcuate portions extending upwardly from a central portion anddiverging outwardly with respect to one another. second arcuate portionscontiguous to the first arcuate portions and extending downwardly, thesecond arcuate portions converging inwardly towards or divergingoutwardly away from, one another and end portions contiguous to thesecond arcuate portions, The end portions extend generally towards andare disposed on the same side of, a plane passing through the centralportion but not through either end portion. and the first arcuateportions extending from the central portion on the same side of theplane.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PMENTEDAPR ems 187K141 sum 2 m 2 CLIPSUITABLE FOR USE AS A CRANE RAIL CLIP FIELD OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to a clip, suitable for use as a crane rail clip, andto a device comprising such a clip.

Crane rails are welded into a continuous length in order to eliminatehigh impact forces when a wheel passes over an ordinary butt joint. Thecrane rails behave as continuous beams and any deflection ofa cranegirder which supports the rails will cause differential longitudinalmovement of the rail. Forces transmitted to the rails as a result ofacceleration and deceleration of the crane wheels over the rails willalso give rise to longitudinal movement of the rails. Surge forcesgiving rise to lateral movement of the rails are caused by cross travelof the crane crab and load, or steering forces applied to the side ofthe head of the rail by the flanges of the wheels or by steeringrollers.

PRIOR ART One known type of crane rail fixing device comprises a clip inthe form of an integral piece of sheet steel having a base portionadapted to be bolted on to the upper surface of the girder or othersupport, and a spring tongue portion which extends from the side of thebase portion remote from the rail and curves back over the base portionand then downwardly so that its extremity is adapted to engage theflange of the rail. This device is expensive and may not permitlongitudinal structural and expansion movements of the rail.

Another known device comprises a clip made of a sheet of spring steel.The clip has a substantially planar portion provided with an aperturefor receiving with clearance a stud which is welded to a girder on whicha rail is to be mounted. The clip has a curved end portion the extremityof which is intended to engage a flange of a rail.

In order to clamp a rail on a girder, a base plate through which thestud passes is urged against the toe of the rail by means of a camenabling variable adjustability of the position of the base plate on thegirder. A nut is then screwed onto the stud so that the substantiallyplanar portion of the clip is clamped onto the base plate and so thatthe extremity of the curved end portion exerts pressure on the flange ofthe rail. This device has the disadvantages that the clip may work looseand the extremity of the curved end portion of the clip has a tendencyto dig into the flange of the rail thereby preventing longitudinalstructural and expansion move ments of the rail.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a clip, suitable for fixing a rail on a girder, which is capableof being used so that problems of longitudinal and lateral movementreferred to above can be overcome or at least mitigated in relativelyinexpensive manner.

It is another object of the invention to provide a device comprisingsuch a clip, the device being adjustable so that misalignment of therail can be corrected.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided aclip suitable for use as a crane rail clip, ofbar spring steel, whichcomprises a continuous member having two end portions, by which the clipis, in use to be retained on a first member, and a central portion, bywhich a force is, in use, to be applied to a second member, the endportions both being on the same side of a plane through the centre ofthe central portion not passing through either end portion and the endportions both being directed towards the said plane through the centreof the central portion. The bar spring steel member has first arcuateportions extending upwardly from the central portion and divergingoutwardiy with respect to one another. and second arcuate portionscontiguous to the first arcuate portions converging inwardly towards, ordiverging outwardly from, one another. The end portions are contiguousto the second arcuate portions.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided adevice for fixing an elongate member on a support member, which devicecomprises a clip according to the preceding paragraph, a base platedefining an aperture, a stud which in use of the device, is received inthe aperature, a clamping plate defining an aperture which receives thestud, and means clamping the end portions of the clip between theclamping plate and the base plate.

Conveniently, the or each base plate is in the form of a polygon and theaperture is eccentrically disposed in the or each base plate. Desirably,the clamping means comprises a nut which can be screwed down on the studwhich is, in use, secured to the support member, and a conical discspring which is disposed between the nut and the clamping plate.

Such a device, when used to fix a rail on a girder, permits movement ofthe rail in the longitudinal direction so that structural and expansionmovements of the rail are permitted. However, the clip offerssubstantially no resistance to surge forces exerted laterally of therail, these forces being resisted by the base plate which can, ifnecessary, be welded to the girder after final alignment of the rail.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how thesame may be carried into effect reference will now be made, by way ofexample, to the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. I shows a plan view of part ofadevice, in accor dance with the present invention, being used to clamp arail on a girder,

FIGv 1a is a top view of the base plate of the device,

FIG. 2 shows a side elevational view of the device of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows a rear elevational view of the device of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of part of another device, in accordance withthe present invention, being used to clamp a rail on a girder, and

FIG. 5 shows a rear elevational view of the device of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. I to 3 ofthe drawings, the device comprises a clip 1 of bar spring steel, such asIS mm diameter EN 29 spring steel. The clip 1 comprises arcuate portions2 which diverge outwardly from a central portion 3 of the bar. Thecentral portion 3 is adapted to engage the flange of a rail 4 and urgethe same against a girder 5. The arcuate portions 2 extend upwardly fromthe central portion 3 and are continued by other arcuate portions 6which converge inwardly towards one another, extend downwardly and arecontinued by end portions 7 of the clip. The end portions of the clip Iextend towards the central portion 3 of the bar and preferably, the endportions 7 converge towards one another.

The end portions 7 of the clip 1 rest on a square, steel base plate 8having a circular aperture 9 for receiving a stud 10 which is welded tothe girder 5. The aperture 9 has a portion of increased diameter forreceiving weld metal which welds the stud 10 to the girder 5. Theaperture 9 is preferably eccentrically disposed in the base plate 8, asshown in FIG. la.

A steel clamping plate 12 which is a hardened circular washer isdisposed above the clip 1 in contact therewith.

The device further comprises a nut 13 which can be screwed onto the stud10, above the clamping plate 12, in order to clamp the clip 1 betweenthe clamping plate 12 and the base plate 8. A conical disc spring 14 isdisposed between the nut and the clamping plate. The conical disc spring14 has predetermined load deflection characteristics so that, when thespring is collapsed on tightening the nut 13, a predetermined stress isexerted on the clamping plate 12 and the nut 13 is retained absolutelytight.

in order to prevent the clip 1 from turning on the base plate 8, thebase plate is preferably provided with grooves 8', 8" for receiving theend portions 7 of the clip l. Several pairs of grooves 8', 8 and 8", 8"may be provided in accordance with the fixed adjustability of theposition of the base plate 8 as will be described hereafter.Alternatively, the undersides of the end portions of the clip 1 may beserrated in order to prevent the clip from turning.

in use of the device in accordance with the present invention for fixinga rail 4 on a girder 5, the central portion 3 of the bar of the clip isarranged to overlie the base flange of the rail which is disposed on thegirder. The end portions 7 of the clip 1 lie on the base plate 8 and thestud 10 which is welded to the girder extends through the aperture 9 inthe base plate 8 which may be welded to the girder 5 after finalalignment of the rail 4. The base plate 8 is disposed with one edgeadjacent the base flange of the rail 4. If the aperture is eccentricallydisposed in the base plate, misalignment of the rail 4 can be correctedby selecting an appropriate edge of the base plate 8 to lie adjacent therail. In this way, rails on existing supports which are out of line dueto settlement can be realigned. Rails of a large ship building crane,for example, could be up to I00 metres apart, with a required toleranceof i 2 mm and thus it will be appreciated that some adjustment of therails may be necessary. By varying the dimensions of the base plate 8,or by increasing the number of sides thereof, various degrees ofmisalignment of the rails can be corrected. The dimensions of the baseplate are preferably such that a minimum variation of 6 mm in thealignment of a rail can be achieved by rotating the base plate such thatdifferent sides thereof lie adjacent the base flange of the rail.

The nut 13 is then tightened on the stud thereby to collapse the discspring 14 and clamp the clip 1 between the clamping plate 12 and thebase plate 8. As the nut 13 is tightened, the clip 1 is deflected andthe central portion 3 of the bar of the clip exerts a load on the baseflange of the rail 4. As an example, if the clip is made of a bar of 15mm diameter EN 29 spring steel, the length of the central portion 3 ofthe bar in contact with the base flange of the rail may be 25 mm and thetoe load exerted on the base flange may be threequarters of a ton.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings, the device shown isexerting a larger toe load of, for example, one and a half tons on thebase flange of a rail. The device comprises a clip 15 of bar springsteel having a diameter greater than 15 mm. The clip 15 comprisesarcuate portions 16 which diverge outwardly from a central portion 17 ofthe bar. The central portion 17 is adapted to engage the rail 18 andurges the same against the support 19. The arcuate portions 16 extendupwardly from the central portion 17 and are continued by arcuateportions 20 which diverge outwardly relative to one another, extenddownwardly and are continued by end portions 21 of the clip which extendtowards the rail 18. The device comprises two base plates 22 and twoclamping plates 23 for clamping respective end portions 21 of the clip.Each base plate 22 and clamping plate 23 has an aperture 24, 25,respectively, for receiving a respective stud 26 which is welded to thesupport 19.

It will be appreciated that instead of receiving a stud which is weldedto a support, a clamping plate and a base plate of a device inaccordance with the present invention may be adapted to receive a boltwhich is fixed to the support.

Rails which are fixed on a girder by means ofa device in accordance withthe present invention are preferably soft mounted by means of aresilient pad, for example rubber disposed between the rails and thesupport.

What I claim is:

l. A crane rail clip, which comprises a continuous member of bar springsteel having two end portions by which the clip is, in use, to beretained on a first member, and central portion by which a force is, inuse, to be applied to a second member, the bar spring steel memberhaving first arcuate portions extending upwardly from the centralportion and diyerging outwardly with respect to one another, secondarcuate portions contiguous to the first arucate portions, the secondarcuate portions extending downwardly and converging inwardly towardsone another, and the end portions being contiguous to the inwardlyconverging second arcuate portions, the end portions extending generallytowards, and being disposed on the same side of, a plane passing throughthe center of the central portion but not through either end portion,and the outwardly diverging first arucate portions extending from thecentral portion on the same side of the plane.

2. A device for fixing the second member on a support member, whichdevice comprises a clip according to claim 1, a base plate defining anaperture, a stud which, in use of the device, is received in theaperture, a clamping plate defining an aperture which receives the stud,and means clamping the end portions of the clip between the clampingplate and the base plate.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the base plate is a polygonand the aperture is eccentrically disposed in the base plate.

4. A device according to claim 2 wherein the base plate is provided witha plurality of pairs of grooves, each pair being adapted to receive theend portions of the clip.

5. A device according to claim 2, wherein the clamping means comprises anut which can be screwed down on the stud which is, in use, secured tothe support member, and a conical disc spring which is disposedbetweenthe nut and the clamping plate.

6. A crane rail clip, which comprises a continuous member of bar springsteel having two end portions by which the clip is, in use, to beretained on a first member, and a central portion by which a force is,in use, to be applied to a second member. the bar spring steel memberhaving first arcuate portions extending upwardly from the centralportion and diverging outwardly with respect to one another, secondarcuate portions contiguous to the first arcuate portions. the secondarcuate portions extending downwardly and diverging outwardly away fromone another, and the end portions being contiguous to the outwardlydiverging second arcuate portions, the end portions extending generallytowards, and being disposed on the same side of, a plane passing throughthe center of the central portion but not through either end portion,and the outwardly diverging first arcuate portions extending from thecentral portion on the same side of the plane.

7. A device for fixing the second member on a support member, whichdevice comprises a clip according to claim 6, two base plates eachdefining an aperture, two studs each of which is, in use of the device,received in a respective aperture, two clamping plates each defining anaperture which receives a respective stud, and means clamping the endportions of the clip between a respective clamping plate and base plate.

I l '0 ll

1. A crane rail clip, which comprises a continuous member of bar springsteel having two end portions by which the clip is, in use, to beretained on a first member, and central portion by which a force is, inuse, to be applied to a second member, the bar spring steel memberhaving first arcuate portions extending upwardly from the centralportion and diverging outwardly with respect to one another, secondarcuate portions contiguous to the first arucate portions, the secondarcuate portions extending downwardly and converging inwardly towardsone another, and the end portions being contiguous to the inwardlyconverging second arcuate portions, the end portions extending generallytowards, and being disposed on the same side of, a plane passing throughthe center of the central portion but not through either end portion,and the outwardly diverging first arucate portions extending from thecentral portion on the same side of the plane.
 2. A device for fixingthe second member on a support member, which device comprises a clipaccording to claim 1, a base plate defining an aperture, a stud which,in use of the device, is received in the aperture, a clamping platedefining an aperture which receives the stud, and means clamping the endportions of the clip between the clamping plate and the base plate.
 3. Adevice according to claim 2, wherein the base plate is a polygon and theaperture is eccentrically disposed in the base plate.
 4. A deviceaccording to claim 2 wherein the base plate is provided with a pluralityof pairs of grooves, each pair being adapted to receive the end portionsof the clip.
 5. A device according to claim 2, wherein the clampingmeans comprises a nut which can be screwed down on the stud which is, inuse, secured to the support member, and a conical disc spring which isdisposed between the nut and the clamping plate.
 6. A crane rail clip,which comprises a continuous member of bar spring steel having two endportions by which the clip is, in use, to be retained on a first member,and a central portion by which a force is, in use, to be applied to asecond member, the bar spring steel member having first arcuate portionsextending upwardly from the central portion and diverging outwardly withrespect to one another, second arcuate portions contiguous to the firstarcuate portions, the second arcuate portions extending downwardly anddiverging outwardly away from one another, and the end portions beingcontiguous to the outwardly diverging second arcuate portions, the endportions extending generally towards, and being disposed on the sameside of, a plane passing through the center of the central portion butnot through either end portion, and the outwardly diverging firstarcuate portions extending from the central portion on the same side ofthe plane.
 7. A device for fixing the second member on a support member,which device comprises a clip according to claim 6, two base plates eachdefining an aperture, two studs each of which is, in use of the device,received in a respective aperture, two clamping plates each defining anaperture which receives a respective stud, and means clamping the endportions of the clip between a respective clamping plate and base plate.